FG targets 3,050MW Mambilla Power project to enhance social security in North East

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, says the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Power project being executed by the Federal Government and some Chinese companies will guarantee social security in the North East Zone.

According to NDPHC’s spokesperson, Mr. Yakubu Lawal, the project will guarantee social security through reliable and steady power supply and emergence of hybrid of industrial and agro clusters that will come with stable power supply.

The government recently announced partnership with a Chinese export and import bank, EXIM Bank of China, to raise funds for the construction of the plant.

The Mambilla dam project is a multipurpose clog up with a huge multiplier effects, the government said.

After completion, the plant would be deployed to service commercial agricultural businesses across the value chain.

Apart from its potential of empowering over 5,000 youths from the North-Eastern states who will benefit from direct and indirect engagements, the project will also enhance the agro components of Sustainable Development Growth, SDG, likewise scaling up Nigeria’s global competitiveness in agriculture, which will in turn, guarantee food security.

Lawal further revealed that the project’s equity financing model is structured in 86 percent equity contribution by Chinese EXIM Bank, and 15 percent equity contribution by the Nigerian government.

“At the moment, the Ministry of Finance is wrapping up and rounding up the loan packages. The Mambila Power Project management team will be inaugurated for operation in due course,” he said

“The effort already put into this project is laudable and commendable,” he added.